Introducing the Top 3 Most Popular Manga Abroad
Ever wonder what the trends in manga are now and what’s currently most popular?
Today, we’re compiling a list on just that. honto, a Japanese hybrid general bookstore, has announced the top 3 most ordered manga (series titles) calculated from purchase data by international residents from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Plus, we’re including 2 special mentions that didn’t make it to Top 3 but wanted to introduce as well.
So check it out! Did your favorites make the list?
Top 3: Tokyo Revengers (Ken Wakui / Kodansha Comics Weekly Shonen Magazine / Shonen Magazine Comics)
For our Top 3 manga series, we have Tokyo Revengers, the most recent work out of the ones that got into this list. Ken Wakui’s action / sci-fi thriller manga is about Takemichi Hanagaki and his unfortunate encounters with the Tokyo Manji Gang.
It tells the story of how these members are involved with each other in complicated ways, and is filled with unexpected twists and turns that’ll definitely get you hooked.
Top 2: One Piece (Eiichiro Oda / Jump Comics / Shueisha)
Next up, we have the longest running series on this list and one that undoubtedly even the most casual of manga fans will have heard of: One Piece.
One Piece has never really lost its place as one of the most popular manga series throughout its run. This is true not only in Japan, but also amongst fans abroad. Its lasting power is a true testament to the quality of Eiichiro Oda’s work – how it entertains readers really well and how he has created such a great piece of fiction for it to be so universally beloved.
Top 1: Jujutsu Kaisen (Gege Akutami / Jump Comics / Shueisha)
Finally, here we are at Top 1. Was it the series that you expected? Despite having been first published around 4 years ago in 2018, Jujutsu Kaisen has already proven itself to be an immensely popular body of work – having been recently included as one of the best-selling manga of all time.
Fans of the series love it for its intriguing plotlines and the world building that creator Gege Akutami has made. Its world where curses and sorcerers exist sets it apart from others in this list, but more importantly, characters such as Yuji Itadori, his backstory, and the people that surround him are what keeps fans invested in this wonderfully told manga series.
Special Mention: Slam Dunk (Takehiko Inoue / Jump Comics / Shueisha)
Slam Dunk is included in this list because of fans’ anticipation for the recently announced Slam Dunk film, The First Slam Dunk, which caused an increase in the sales of the manga series recently.
This upcoming film is the first movie related to Slam Dunk since 1995, and it will be computer animated as well, letting fans finally get to see a modernized version of Slam Dunk on the big screen.
Special Mention: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Koyoharu Gotouge / Jump Comics / Shueisha)
Arguably one of the biggest phenomena to hit Japan in recent years, the story of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba takes place in a world where demons and supernatural powers exist. It mainly focuses on Tanjiro Kamado, his sister Nezuko, and the secret society of the Demon Slayer Corps.
It was first published in 2016, and its 2019 anime adaptation launched this series to worldwide popularity that still lasts to this day.
How to buy original Japanese manga from abroad
What is honto?
We mentioned earlier how the Top 3 list included here comes from the Japanese hybrid bookstore honto. honto combines physical bookstores with their online stores to provide a way for customers to purchase books, manga, magazines, and other printed media in a way that works for them.
They also accept orders from customers overseas, so they’re a great way to get original Japanese published materials to you – no matter where you are in the world!
You can now also access the wide range of manga and books that they sell on FROM JAPAN! If you filter your search to show items from honto (via the link below) you can find nearly 20,000 items – all within reach with just one click of a button!
How do I buy manga sold on honto via FROM JAPAN?
If you’re new to our site, you can follow the step-by-step guide below to get started.
- Go to the honto page on FJ Select! If you know what you want to buy, go to the “honto” page and input the Japanese name of the series you’re looking for.
- Check the product detail page!
- If everything looks good, click “add it to cart” and pay for Charge 1.
- Your items get delivered to our distribution center.
- Pay for Invoice 2.
- Your items get sent to your location.
- Arrival.
Why should I buy original manga in Japanese?
If you can’t read Japanese, you might be wondering why you should even buy manga in its originally published language. However, there are a few good uses for getting Japanese manga:
- You get the Japanese version with the original cover!
Did you know that sometimes foreign editions of manga are different from their Japanese counterparts?
In some cases, manga published in Japan have completely different covers from manga sold overseas. If you want to collect the original versions of the manga with how it was published in Japan, you’ll need to rely on a Japanese bookstore for that. Sometimes, even the sizes of the manga itself is different in Japan vs. versions in English!
You can find and get original Japanese editions to see what the real thing looks like!
- You can also get publications only available in Japan!
There are many other interesting spin-off publications besides manga itself!
For example, for One Piece fans, there’s the Japan-exclusive One Piece Magazine. They contain behind-the-scenes photos and things like original sketches that you won’t see in the original published manga. Even if you can’t read Japanese, they’ll have plenty of new and interesting tidbits you’ll be able to take a look at!
